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Ok...JD is in no danger of losing his job at the end of this season unless there is a complete collapse from here on out. He's a couple of points away from having a 5-2 football team this year, in a year where we were expected to do nothing. Plus, he's in the middle of a long-term contract, which is another factor that plays a huge role at schools like Akron where money is not abundant to buy out contracts. As for Mason, we could never afford him. Enought said.Zipseuph...the coach out at Mount Union has gotten mentioned from time to time over the years. I'm not sure if it's a situation where he does not desire a bigger job, or the fact that he has never gotten an offer. But, I can't recall ever hearing about a situation where a D-1 team has tried to lure him away from there.

I said this to my friends yesterday, and I'll say it again...That was an EXCELLENT atmosphere yesterday. Great weather, a good live band, lots of activities (the fan activity area up front was unbelievable), halftime fireworks show, etc. In 30 years of going to football games at the Rubber Bowl, I have never had that much fun. I've been to BG, and they can't put together a game atmosphere anything close to that. If they came here and did not have a great time, I feel sorry for them. Wow...genius of the BG fans....cut on the Rubber Bowl...a 70 year old stadium that is being replaced. Wow..what a big secret...the RB is old. If BG fans think we are obnoxious, they obviously have not had much experience with the idiots down the road from us.

GP1...that was the thought among most of us....that we were not getting enough points to put them away. Every time we kicked a field goal, I remember saying to myself that we really needed a TD. BUT, the theory that the offense should take the blame for every loss because they did not score enough really isn't fair. Losses are team losses. Every unit on this team could surely point to something today that could have changed the game if done better.

I guess if I could point to one thing about this offense that bothers me, it's the dropped passes. Sure, it seems as if JD should be going to the run more often, but I think we knew that this particular BG defense was vulnerable to the run, and remember...we are without any tested backups at that spot right now, so that might be difficult until Johnson comes back. Remember, we tried to run quite a bit at Can't last week, and it didn't work. It all depends on what defenses are giving us.Let me add a few more things that are on my mind....1) We gave up 6.5 yards per attempt on the ground last night.....6.5!!! I kept saying all night....we need more points....and I was right. That puts a lot of pressure on your offense to have to keep going out there and matching scores. 2) The trick play at the goal line: Didn't we just lose yardage on a couple of plays before the coaches had to make that 3rd down call? I mean, I have to trust that the coaches made that call based on what they were seeing. In today's world of sophisticated offenses, that kind of play should really be no big deal. And it looked like it was wide open. If this gave us a good chance to score, and it looked like BG was looking for Kennedy once again, then it may have been a good call for that particular situation. They probably have practiced that play many, many times without a hitch, and if we would have scored, nobody would have talked about it today. It's something we do as fans....if the play works, it's a great call....if it does not, it's a bad call. It sure looked to me like that play was going to work. 3) It's sure hard to be critical of what the offense produced yesterday, but I certainly think it's legitimate to question our QBs decision making. I think he's a lot better this year at finding receivers. He's come a long way since looking for Arthur every time he snapped the ball last year. I do see him try to force long throws in situations where the safety is coming in to help from the back in a two deep. You should NEVER try to complete that pass. Look for another target. The TD pass to Bowser going down the far sideline, when he had his man beat, and he was in single coverage was good recognition on Jacs part. I just wish he could "read" the field a little more consistently.4) The other QB. I trust that the coaches have the best guy they have on the field. I have to admit, I was at the spring game and saw no QB that impressed me very much at all, and I really was going there to see if we had someone who could be better than Jac. Beyond those two thoughts, I really don't think this is a "lets try the other guy" situation. At least not right now. We are in the race for now, The offense as a unit has been pretty productive, and I can't image trying to break in a new QB at the moment. Maybe if things change in a few games, that will be the time.

You know. It's sure nice to have an outlet like this website to vent after a loss, but if we are analyzing this game specifically, please take a look at this..1) DK rushes for 180 yards, a career high.2) We accumulate almost 400 yards of total offense.3) We turned the ball over one time. 4) We scored 33 points.In light on this, I'm surprised to see so much criticism about the offense. This BG team crushed us last year, and made us look really bad in the process. Although I am mad that we lost, I'm certainly not dissappointed that the team picked to finish last in the MAC East played to the wire against the team that people keep thinking is the best in the East. My one buddy, who has also been a supporter of this program for decades, said to me after the game "we are so close to being a solid MAC team again". And he's right. And we'll live to play another game next week, and see if that upward trend continues. Despite our own frustration with the loss, I think most observers outside of Akron see us as being surprisingly better than expected this year. It's making the season more exciting than I anticipated. I mean...besides Ball State getting away from us a little bit (although they are the #25 team in the country) has any game yet this year been what anyone could call a bad performance by this team? And I don't think it's a stretch at all to call some of those games a better-than-expected performance.

There is a news story posted right now on the Seattle Seahawks website that says that Frye is the likely starter this Sunday.

Guys...Remember. This still does not account for the millions in operating expenses.

82...I remember it well. I think I nearly died a few times crossing Buchtel. Crossing Brown during the middle of the day was also difficult. Luckily, they built the overhead tunnel between Memorial and Rhodes, and you were able to cross through the tunnel insead of freezing your butt off waiting that that intersection during the winter.Heck..the closing of Buchtel after I graduated was a MAJOR move. But now...it's not even the same campus anymore. Amazing.

Please allow me to add a little bit to what uakronkid has stated. I moved here 30 years ago to go to college. It was right in the midst of the decline of the rubber industry in Akron. The campus and the city wasn't so much to speak about at that time. Since that time, there has been a major transformation. The city has picked up a ton of techonology, research and health care business. And has transformed the old downtown business corridor into something to be proud of. In terms of the campus, I can assure you that I DON'T EVEN RECOGNIZE the university I attended. Everything has changes dramatically. Recreation facilities, the campus life, the landscape, dramatically increased on-campus residence facilities, etc......not to mention the new stadium. I would have given anything to have what the current students have now. It's simply amazing. As a testament, I decided to stay here after I graduated, and have become an active part of the business community, and now feel so connected to this great community that I will probably never leave. So, if you are looking for a great place to send your child, I think this is a fantastic time to come to Akron. And since you are coming to the game tomorrow....Expect a great atmosphere....We are not a Tennessee, a Florida, or a LSU in terms of the size of our following...but you'll certainly feel welcome here, and have a great time. Best wishes to your son in his quest to find the right college choice.

I voted that BG will win a close one because...1) After last week, I think they are due to another big offensive game.2) They are just too much for us if we both play a good game. Lets hope they play as poorly as they did last week, but I just have a funny feeling that will not happen.

I've been told that this competition has a history of not inviting the champ from the year before to compete. It's happened with several other past winners as well.

It's funny. My first glimpse at the first couple of words of this post made me think that it was another testinomy about a certain candidate's wife talking about how she, for the first time, is proud of her country. :blink: Kinda scared me there for a minute. Glad to see it was sports related instead. MDZip....I'm sure glad that we have no teams down at the North Texas level in our league but it doesn't really cure the notion that we are one of the worst conferences in D-1A. I'm sincerely hoping that this is the year where we change. Currently, we have some teams ranked respectably high.

UA1987...in response to your last post, I'm not aware that any football program in the MAC is anywhere near operating in the black. In fact, I believe the atest data says that most of us finish several million in the red. But, you believe that we can significantly increase football revenue by skipping the 800,000 dollar paydays at Penn State and rely solely on our own home attendance? When we will only have a 30,000 seat stadium? And assuming that we can pack it every game, every year from September to November? In any weather conditions? And also taking into account that what we are offered to televise a game is far less than the bigger schools? Good luck. As far as playing big games to help recruiting, it doesn't imply that playing a game at Tennessee might expose us to players from Tennessee. It's the tv coverage, the appearances on wrap up shows on ESPN, etc. that gives you some nationwide exposure. Not to mention, being able to tell all of your recruits that they will have the opportunity to play some big schools.

zippysgotagun...it's hard to disagree with you there. Nice picture. Yes, the ball could have been thrown deeper in the end zone. But, I will also agree with some of the others that Jac is a better QB this year, and has improved. I have to correct one thing about the rules that someone brought up. No, the ground cannot cause a fumble, but it can cause an incomplete pass. If someone falls to the ground trying to catch a ball, and the ground jars it loose before he catches it, it is going to be ruled imcomplete. Bowser had possession before he fell to the ground in the end zone. If by chance he had not gotten a hold of the ball before the ground knocked it loose, it would have correctly been ruled incomplete.

Let me add one more thought.I think many of us are guilty of this line of thinking "If only we can get into a bigger conference, we can elevate our recruiting and show that we belong".Yes...I would love for it to happen that way...but it's NOT.We have to get some things done on our own to make that even a possiblity. For example, a 1990s Marshall football-level run might get some attention. Honestly, I can't think of a basketball example right now since no MAC school has ever been courted by a larger conference because of their benefit as a basketball program to a bigger conference. And since we all draw only a few thousand a game in basketball, it's not going to happen anytime soon. It's the chicken before the egg thought process. We simply are not getting into any of these leagues without first showing the ability to be a asset to them. If we can do that right now, I'd like to know what that is. Maybe we have a slight chance to use the stadium as leverage, but I think the more likely scenario to get ANY kind of attention is to start packing that stadium, consistently, over many years. I'm very passionate about this topic. I'd love to see it happen. But it has to start with US. We need to keep talking about what a great time it is to go to the games, and continue to invite more and more people to our tailgate parties. It seems to be growing, but it has a long way to go.

bigzipguy....someone who "gets it". Sort of. Yes, we need to show success where we are right now. That will generate revenue and increased fan interest, which will likely bring more support....and increased revenue. I have to ask the question again. What do we have that attracts us to a bigger conference right now? Some say, a new stadium? Maybe if we pack that thing over the next few years, consistently, someone will take notice. Without that, we don't have what it takes for another conference to say "hey...let's get Akron in here...they will benefit us". GoZips....I have to disagree with you on an issue. You say that we have grown our tailgating to the quality and size of larger schools? Ok...I love tailgating at the Bowl. I've been doing it for almost 30 years, but.....size? We have about 100 people out there who do this regularly, and go hours before game time. I've been to many big schools. They have THOUSANDS of people who show up THE NIGHT BEFORE with their RVs and party all weekend. I have a great time at the Bowl...no doubt...but to compare us to the big schools in size of tailgate parties is just far from the truth. Someone mentioned that we could not compete in basketball in a division that would include Memphis, Cincinnati, Louisville, etc. But remember this. Conference affiliation elevates your recruiting. Supposing we could get admitted, we wouldn't be playing these guys with the level of talent we have now.Akron has to do some big things to get the attention of larger conferences. And frankly, there may be other MAC schools right now that are in a better position to do that at this time. New stadium? Consistent packed attendance?....ok...we have a chance. But until that happens, let's try to win in the MAC. That's the best thing we can do to help our chances right now.

When you stink, slogans like that just become a joke. I'd love to see this doctored also. I get a kick out of that stuff. Captain?

Blue and Gold...great thread.I've been around this program for 30 years. And here's the deal....it's all about money. I've said this many times on this website. If ANY representative from a "bigger" conference came to Akron on gameday, and saw the sparse amount of fans in the stands, they'd turn around and go home. Revenue-generating programs (which equal revenue for your respective league),or potential revenue generating programs, would be the only thing that would attract the attention of a new league. And we can't provide that.Let's look closely at the Marshall situation. Marshall vacated the MAC a few years ago for C-USA. And even though they have struggled since the move, they are still drawing well over 25,000 per game. When was the last time we ever even drew 25,000 for a single game?So..what can Akron do?It's simple. Use these first couple of years at the new stadium to "market" yourself as a program that generates huge fan interest..and see where it gets you. Sure, WE know that it may not last a few years down the line. But "sell" it as something that we expect to continue for many, many years. It's our best chance to sell ourself to a larger league right now. If we can get someone to buy into this, maybe attracting a bigger conference is a possibility at this point, but something Big East level is probably impossible.Look at it this way...are any schools in the MAC currently being courted by another conference? And there are several schools in the MAC that draw better than us. Conclusion: This is a long uphill battle for a program like ours....and it has to start with large and consistent attendance for many, many years at home games.

One thing that concerns me.....not only was the game last Saturday an emotional win, but it was also physically draining. Our defense was chasing Edelman all day, to the point where most of them were only able to walk on pass rush situations near the end of the game. Is it easy to be fresh again the following Saturday after doing that for a full game and two overtimes? I sure hope so, because BG is going to spread the field and make us run all over the place again.

I wish for 3 things this weekend...1) The weather is good, and the tailgating atmosphere is awesome. 2) Good crowd.3) Bowling Green plays the way they did against Eastern Michigan.

UA1987....Please take a look at my post again. Yes...Winning games is how you grow as a major college football program. I state that in my previous post as the long term solution. But you have to pay the bills. You can dream all you want, but the teams that can offer the big paydays are not going to play a team like Akron at home. Do you think that athletic administrators don't pursue these options? Our bargaining chips in these situations are few, but you still have to get the job done (i.e. bring in revenue substantial enough to keep your head above water).It's an unfortunate reality....but a reality nonetheless. Yes... a "no brainer".

In fact.....in the 3rd quarter, we were down only 17-9, so it's hard to call that an "unwinnable" game. Here's the argument for playing big teams with big stadiums in football.... You have to do it often enough to pay your bills. It's that simple. It's incredibly expensive to run a D-1A football program. If it weren't for that, I probably would not want to play these games in football because they ruin your only chance of playing in a big bowl game, which is to have an unbeaten season. Unless you are a MAC team that is ranked high at the start of the season, which is unlikely, you have to run the table (and hope a lot of people lose) to get to a big bowl game. And shouldn't that be the ultimate goal for a major college football team?Unfortunately, we don't enjoy the same luxuries in football as we do in basketball. To get to your ultimate goal in basketball (entry into the championship tournament), you can win a conference tournament, or have up to about 5 losses with a good enough strength of schedule. In football? Nearly impossible to get high enough in the rankings to get a big bowl bid with even one loss if you are a MAC team. Now...granted...I'd love to have an unbeaten season AND a win over a ranked team. But, historically it still looks like the best formula in football for teams in lower-ranked conferences is just to win all of your games, no matter who you play, and watch the others fall.

In the long run.....these last two wins over Can't were very, very important for one reason.After they buried us two years ago at their place, the typical NE Ohio high school football player, who may want to go to a MAC level school, may have been wondering if Can't might be shifting the balance of power among the two NE Ohio major colleges. We needed to put that notion to rest, and show that we remain the superior program in the eyes of those potential recruits.

If ever a football program warranted being booted to 1-AA, Can't State is it.

johnnyzip... skhorbotly....I've been harping about why interference was not called all along. This is as obvious of an interference penalty as you are ever going to see. I wonder why more people have not brought this up. In addition, I understand that the ref who actually made the incomplete call was one that was not in the best position of the two. I was even more stunned to find out yesterday that we had to use a timeout just to get the refs to even look at it again, since they apparently were not going to look at it initially on their own. A complete comedy of errors. I mentioned this in an earlier post, but I will bring it up again. At a game at OU a couple of years ago, we were trying an onside kick at the end of the game to come back and beat them, in the year that they won the East. Our player recovered the ball, and stood up and held the ball in the air. At the time, the referees were still looking into a pile of players away from where the actual recovery took place. Apparently, they didn't know what to do, so they gave the ball to OU. However, they did review it, and despite the fact that you could CLEARLY see the Akron player standing there in the footage holding the ball up in the air, they STILL did not reverse the call.Does anyone else remember this? This is why I have no confidence in these guys getting calls right.